Drying apparatus for towels and the like



Dec. 10, 1957 G. s. THOMPSON 2,815,585

DRYING APPARATUS FOR TOWELS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 19, 1956 /8 i 5 I/2\ A J 2 W /5 /9 /7 w 22 30m 2 .22 25/1 2727 i. Mam 27m? United StatesPatent DRYING APPARATUS FOR TOWELS AND THE LIKE Glenn S. Thompson,Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Melair Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsrn Application December 19, 1956, Serial No.629,321

Claims. (Cl. 34-151) This invention relates to drying apparatus and hasfor its principal object the provision of a compact portable dryingapparatus for home use which is especially well adapted for the dryingof towels, or various small articles of wearing apparel.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a heateddryer for towels and the like which comprises a substantially flatupright housing and bracket means for adapting the dryer for eitherfloor or wall mounting.

In this connection, it is a further object to provide a portable dryingapparatus of the character described having handles on the opposite endsof its housing by which the apparatus may be lifted and transported fromplace to place and wherein said handles have alternate bracket attachingportions thereon spaced transversely of the housing end walls to whichthe bracket means may be secured to hold the housing spaced differentdistances from a vertical supporting surface, in the manner of a towelrack.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of theherein-disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the bestmode so far devised for the practical application of the principlesthereof, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dryingapparatus of this invention having a portion broken away to show theinterior of its housing;

Figure 2 is an end view of the apparatus seen in Figure 1, showing thesame standing on a floor;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but illustrating the manner inwhich the apparatus may be wallmounted, towel rack fashion, with thehousing of the apparatus spaced a minimum distance from the surface ofthe wall; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating the manner inwhich the apparatus may be Wall-mounted with its housing spaced agreater distance from the surface of the wall.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing in whichlike reference characters identify like parts throughout the severalviews, the numeral 5 generally designates the elongated substantiallynarrow upright housing for the drying apparatus of this invention. Thehousing is constructed of light weight sheet metal for easy portabilityand comprises opposite flat upright side walls 6 and 7 of substantiallength and height, a top wall 8 joined to the upper portions of the sidewalls and convexly curved to provide a rounded surface over which towelsand the like to be dried may be draped to hang down along the exteriorsof the side walls. Preferably, the horizontally extending top wall it isformed as an integral 2,815,585 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 part of the sidewalls so that the side and top walls may be conveniently formed from asingle length of sheet metal bent flatwise to substantially invertedU-shape with its bight providing the convexly curved top wall and itslegs 6 and 7 respectively providing the front and rear walls of thehousing. The advantage of the one piece construction of the side and topwalls just described, is just that it assures that the entire exteriorsurfaces of these walls will be smooth and uninterrupted.

The housing is relatively fiat or shallow in its front-torear dimension,having a depth only about one-quarter to one-fifth as great as itsheight, and it is closed at its opposite ends by substantially flatupright end wall panels 10, which are substantially narrow, and whichmay be permanently secured to the ends of the side and top walls in anydesired manner. The housing is also preferably closed at its bottom by aflat bottom wall panel 11 detachably secured to the housing in anydesired manner, as for instance, by sheet metal screws 12 passingupwardly through the bottom wall and threading into inturned flanges 13on the lower ends of each of the side walls 6 and 7.

A pair of bracket members 15 is provided to support the housing in anupright position upon a floor or the like with the housing spaced adistance above the surface of the floor. These bracket members,therefore, constitute supporting legs for the housing. Each bracketmember is formed from a single elongated sheet metal band bent flatwiseto provide a substantially flat base 16 wider than the front to backdimension of the housing, and integral upwardly and inwardly convergingleg portions 17. The outer ends of the leg portions are bent inwardlytoward one another to provide uniplanar attaching tabs 18 which flatwiseengage the under surface of the bottom wall 11, to which they may bedetachably secured by screws 19 at positions near the opposite ends ofthe housing. The flat bases 16 of the brackets, of course, extend indirections crosswise of the planes of the front and rear walls 6 and 7of the housing.

A rod type electric heating element 21 mounted in the lower portion ofthe housing and supplied with electric current through a service cord 22extending to the exterior of the housing provides for heating thehousing to facilitate the drying of towels or other articles draped overthe top wall 8 of the housing. Preferably the heating element isreceived in clamps 23 mounted upon the bottom wall 11 near each endthereof so that the element may be removed from the housing forinspection or servicing merely by detachment of the bottom panel 11.

One of the features of the drying apparatus of this invention resides inits easy portability, and to facilitate lifting and transporting theapparatus from one room to another, a pair of handles generallydesignated 25, is provided therefor, one being secured to each of theend walls of the housing at the upper portion thereof and at locationswhere they will in no wise interfere with the draping of towels or otherarticles over the housing of the apparatus.

The handles are of special construction in that each is stamped andformed from sheet metal to provide a substantially U-shaped grippingportion having its bight 26 flatwise overlying and spaced from theadjacent end Wall 10 of the housing and having its opposite legs 27projecting toward and secured to the adjacent end wall as by means ofoutwardly directed flange portions 28 on their extremities, spot weldedto the adjacent end wall. The leg portions 27 of the handles, of course,lie in upright planes parallel to the front and rear walls 6 and 7 ofthe housing, but spaced slightly inwardly therefrom, and while theU-shaped gripping portion of the handle is open at its bottom to enableinsertion of several fingers thereinto, it is preferably closed at thetop by a flap 29 bent inwardly from the bight portion 26 of the handle.

Attention is directed to the fact that both of the upright legs 27 ofeach handle are provided with holes 30 which are vertically spaced aparta distance equal to the spacing of the holes in the attaching tabs 18 onthe supporting brackets. This enables the brackets, when detached fromthe bottom of the housing, to be secured to either of the legs 27 of thehandles, as indicated in Figures 3 and 4, with the brackets extendingtoward and beyond the plane of the rear wall 7 and with their fiat basessubstantially parallel thereto. The apparatus may thus be mounted uponan upright supporting surface, such as a wall 32 of a room, in either oftwo positions at which the rear wall 7 of the housing is spaceddifferent distances from the vertical surface of said wall.

When the tabs 18 of the brackets are secured to the supporting legs 27remote from the wall 32, the housing of the apparatus is disposed aminimum distance from said wall, and this type of mounting is desirablein instances where space is at a premium. However, when adequate spaceis available, the tabs 18 on the supporting brackets may be attached tothe alternate legs 27 of the handles, as illustrated in Figure 4, tospace the housing a maximum distance from the wall 32 and permit agreater number of towels or other articles to be draped thereover fordrying. It is to be understood, of course, that suitable screws 34 areprovided to detachably secure the brackets to the alternate supportinglegs 27 on the handles, and that the bases 16 of the brackets havesuitable screw receiving holes 35 punched therein to enable them to beattached to the wall 32.

From the foregoing description taken together with the accompanyingdrawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, thatthis invention provides an exceptionally convenient readily portableapparatus for drying towels or. other articles, and that the uniquesupporting brackets and handles provided for the apparatus readily adaptthe same for floor or wall mounting as a towel rack.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Portable apparatus for drying towels and the like, comprising: alight weight sheet metal housing having spaced substantially fiatupright side and end walls, the side walls having substantial length andheight and the end walls being substantially narrow, said housing havinga substantially horizontal top wall which is convexly curved and overwhich towels and the like to be dried may be draped to hang down alongthe side walls of the housing; a heating device carried by the housingin its interior; a handle on the exterior of each end wall at the upperportion of the housing by which the apparatus may be lifted andtransported from place to place; a pair of supporting members for thehousing; means for detachably connecting said supporting members to thebottom portion of the housing near the ends thereof so that said membersprovide egs extending downwardly from the housing to support theapparatus in an upright position on a horizontal supporting surface; andmeans for detachably connecting said supporting members to said handleswith the members extending in one direction therefrom toward and beyondthe plane of one of said side walls and in which position said membersprovide brackets for attaching the apparatus to a vertical supportingsurface with said one side wall flatwise spaced therefrom.

2. The portable drying apparatus set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized by the fact that said top wall is formed as an integralpart of the side walls to provide a smooth exterior surface on thehousing extending unintcrruptedly over each side wall and the top wallof the housing.

3. The portable drying apparatus set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized by the provision of a substantially flat horizontal'bottomwall on the housing; and wherein each handle comprises a substantiallyU-shaped gripping portion having its bight overlying the adjacent endwall in spaced relation thereto and having opposite spaced apart uprightlegs projecting toward and secured to the adjacent end wall; and whereineach of said supporting members is detachably securable to either thebottom wall of the housing or to one of the legs on the U- shapedgripping portion of each handle.

4. The portable drying apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein each ofsaid handles has provision for attaching the supporting means to eitherleg thereof so as to pro vide for adjustment of the spacing between thehousing and a vertical supporting surface.

5. Apparatus for drying towels and the like, comprising: a sheet metalhousing having flat substantially closely spaced upright side Walls,narrow upright substantially remote end walls, and a horizontal convcxlycurved top wall; a heating device mounted inside the housing; and meansfor supporting the apparatus from a vertical supporting surface with oneside wall of the housing fiatwise opposing said surface but with thehousing in either of two positions at which said side wall thereof isspaced different distances from said supporting surface, said meanscomprising a pair of brackets, a handle on each end wall of the housingat the upper portion thereof, each of said handles having a pair ofupright bracket attaching legs spaced from onev another transversely ofthe adjacent end wall and substantially perpendicular thereto, and meansfor attaching each bracket to one or the other of said legs on one ofthe handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS619,407 Hargreaves Feb. 14, 1899 1,994,284 Martinek Mar. 12, 19352,771,690 Jauzac Nov. 27, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 390,293 Great BritainApr. 6, 1933 1,060,080 France Nov. 18, 1953

